Guest june.andnovas Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Im a dog person but i also have cats. my 6 year old male has a dry cough, as if he's coughing up furballs but nothing ever comes out. don't plan on taking him to the vet as his health is good overall .. though he is chubby. what could maybe be the cause? he eats grass most days. i'm also thinking he eats too much protien as he isn't that active, so he isn't burning as much energy .. compared to my kitten! i'm finding it hard to help him loose weight. he's around 7.5kg now but he is a large cat. I'm thinking he needs to loose just under a kilo. also thought if i had him on raw meat (with ground bone and offal every few days) in the mornings and orijen for dinner? at the moment he gets raw meat/ground bone breakfast and chicken necks for dinner, though he does sometimes turn his nose up at the chicken necks. chicken necks maybe too fatty for him? another quicky .. where can i get sample orijen so i can make sure he will eat it? or could someone (maybe in Perth?) send me a small amount for him to try? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jemappelle Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 I have no idea what is wrong with your cat, I can only tell you about my experience. When my cat was coughing, tests revealed she had Lymphoma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 If he is coughing then he is not in good health. The diet you are feeding him is best fed to a dog. Felines and canines had different dietary needs. A cat requires taurine and fish is the best source of this. I suggest you research feline dietry requirements a bit more and perhaps take your guy to the Vet to have his cough investigated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest june.andnovas Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 forgot to add they get tuna and sardines. i'm also going to start addig fish oil after recently reading that it is safe to do so. also will be adding flaxseed meal for fibre. i have read A LOT on animal nutrition so i have no troubles in that department. maybe a few more people on here that need help with nutrition than myself. well maybe a vet is a good idea, i just don't trust many around perth. bad experiences in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Perhaps create a separate thread requesting Vet recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest june.andnovas Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 yeah i shall do that. now i know that coughing shouldn't be ignored. ta but it is ok for cats to be eating raw (meaning a lot of different foods!) and then dry for dinner? can chicken necks be too fatty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelleva Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 My cats get raw meat as well as chicken necks and wings. The bones are great for keeping the teeth clean. I think as long as you give him some premium dry food the diet sounds pretty good. Maybe you need to get your fat puss exercising a bit. There's a cat toy you can get from the US, called Da Bird, which I'm told cats go nuts over. My kitties are getting one from Santa. Everyone I know who's bought one has raved about it getting the laziest cats of their butts. I have a big cat here too, but he's not really fat, he weighs 6 -7 kg, but he's in proportion. The vets never been concerned about his size. He's nearlly as big as our cavalier. Good luck with the coughing, my first thought was a hairball, but if it keeps going, you need to get a check up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clyde Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 yeah i shall do that. now i know that coughing shouldn't be ignored. ta but it is ok for cats to be eating raw (meaning a lot of different foods!) and then dry for dinner? can chicken necks be too fatty? You're the expert you tell us? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 your cat could have heart failure from long term lack of taurine in the diet as well as weight problems. Go get a good vet check ASAP and get the cat on a properly balanced diet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Not sure about the cough. Could be heart failure. Could be chronic inflamation of the lungs & airways from some sort of irritant. How much food do you feed your cat now? Do you feed a totally raw diet? If you do feed a totally raw diet then you most likely are over feeding him. In healthy adult dogs you only feed 2 to 3% of their ideal body weight a day. I am not sure about cats, you might have to do a bit of research, but it is most likely the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 (edited) My korat Stormy coughs. We had many test done at the uni - they thought it might be lung worm but as it turns out, she peels her claws and they have scarred her throat. The only way to stop it is to have her declawed, but no vet will do it thanks to the mindset. (please do not take this the wrong way - I am not sanctioning anything but in case of medical wellbeing on vet advice) If we would have been able to fix this when she was three I wouldn't be having to have her PTS next week. On advice from our vet the constant scarring and coughing has possibly led to her abdominal cancer and she is in a heap of pain. One vet told me the only way I could have a cat declawed in Australia would be to smash all of her paws. Obviously I can not do this. Now my siamese is copying her claw eating and has been doing so since she first did it in front of him. Both of my cats are indoor cats. Edited for lousy spelling Edited September 18, 2008 by Rascal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelleva Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Thats so sad Rascal. I'm sorry. How ridiculous that they won't do it on medical grounds. Thats a completely different scenario to those overseas who do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nekhbet Posted September 18, 2008 Share Posted September 18, 2008 Rascal what happens if you paint chilli paste or bitterent on her nails? Trim them right back. Or put little booties on you elastoplast on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Thats so sad Rascal. I'm sorry. How ridiculous that they won't do it on medical grounds. Thats a completely different scenario to those overseas who do it. Rascal what happens if you paint chilli paste or bitterent on her nails? Trim them right back. Or put little booties on you elastoplast on? We tried all of that and even that nasty purple horse spray. Also tried the little caps that you glue on their nails. We tried the little silver paw wound booties held on with elastoplast and she wouldn't walk, actually just rolled over on the floor and stayed there not moving. Tried little discs on her ankles, elizabethan collar on her neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest june.andnovas Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 yeah i shall do that. now i know that coughing shouldn't be ignored. ta but it is ok for cats to be eating raw (meaning a lot of different foods!) and then dry for dinner? can chicken necks be too fatty? You're the expert you tell us? :rolleyes: i have no communicational skills and getting my point across in written isn't too grand either. from a shit upbring i've grown up to be quite sensitive .. which i really hate. esp when you need to find a new job asap. i'm here to make friends, i need friends =) and a dog. if i knew that chicken necks were fatty i would not have asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormie Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 (edited) If he is coughing then he is not in good health.The diet you are feeding him is best fed to a dog. Felines and canines had different dietary needs. A cat requires taurine and fish is the best source of this. I suggest you research feline dietry requirements a bit more and perhaps take your guy to the Vet to have his cough investigated. I would have said that the diet the OP has said is great for a cat. Raw meat has taurine - chicken and other poultry meat has higher amounts than red meat, but I think it be unlikely this cat is suffering from taurine deficiency (also, cats don't cough with heart failure as commonly as dogs do). Many cats are actually sensitive to fish and seafood. Cats can suffer asthma which can cause a constant dry coughing. I think a trip to the vet is in order, as a cough does signify the cat isn't truly in good health. Edited September 19, 2008 by stormie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 How long has your cat been coughing for? I was racking my brain last night to think of things to try to help. Have you had a heater on this winter? Could be just a throat annoyance from dry air. You could try a humidifyer, I put one on at the first sign of a cough for my husband and myself and it seems to help especially at night. When my dogs get a cough (not very often) I use manuka honey and turmeric on the tip of my finger, which is what i used when I had whooping cough. If it is dry, you would need something to sooth it. Maybe some semi moist food that doesn't have sharp corners like the usual extruded food and some natural yoghurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirty Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Cats do cough with some heart conditions - HCM is one of them I believe. I would be getting the cat checked ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest june.andnovas Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 If he is coughing then he is not in good health.The diet you are feeding him is best fed to a dog. Felines and canines had different dietary needs. A cat requires taurine and fish is the best source of this. I suggest you research feline dietry requirements a bit more and perhaps take your guy to the Vet to have his cough investigated. I would have said that the diet the OP has said is great for a cat. Raw meat has taurine - chicken and other poultry meat has higher amounts than red meat, but I think it be unlikely this cat is suffering from taurine deficiency (also, cats don't cough with heart failure as commonly as dogs do). Many cats are actually sensitive to fish and seafood. Cats can suffer asthma which can cause a constant dry coughing. I think a trip to the vet is in order, as a cough does signify the cat isn't truly in good health. from what i have read he seems to be on a good diet. better than what he used to be on for sure! just found out that you can feed cats yoghurt as the lactose is nil as the yoghurt is fermented, like in the stomach of a wild cats prey. So i shall be adding this to his diet. I found him to cough less when he was eating dry food. he's had the cough on and off for around 12 months but only just now it has become regular. He is a very hairy cat, so my first guess is he's trying to cough up fur but can't get it out. as that is what it sounds like, you can defiantly hear that he's got something in there to cough up. like a human trying to cough up phlem. that takes practice for humans to get it out! he does tend to cough more in winter .. when he's got his winter coat. at the moment he's shedding like there is no tomorrow!! he does every spring, so that is nothing new. yeah we did have a gas heater on over winter, most nights. I would really like to add a GOOD dry food to his diet as well as still keep up the raw, so I'm on a mission to find a (other than orijen for now) brand for him and see how he takes to that. but yeah vet time very very soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 It sounds very annoying for you both! how often do you brush him? Maybe you need to do it more frequently to help rid him of loose coat?? it may well be asthma /allergy..I once had a cat with an allergy prob...he coughed, but also couldn't breath thru his nose :rolleyes: Hope you fiond a good vet to help :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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